Combined portable table and cabinet



Dec. 15, 1953 c. A. THATCHER COMBINED PORTABLE TABLE AND CABINET FiledOct. 26, 1951 1N VENTOR dijhioel;

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES Pr tTENT' OFFICE COMBINEDPORTABLE TABLE AND CABINET Charles A. Thatcher, Medford, Oreg.

Application October 26, 1951, Serial No. 253,326

8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a combined portable table and cabinet.

An important object of the invention is to provide a cabinet structureparticularly adapted to the carrying of food, plates, knives and forksand other utensils, particularly for use on picnics and the like.

A further object is to provide such a structure having associatedtherewith in a novel relationship a plurality of supporting legs forminga permanent part of the structure as a whole and adapted to be folded inan inoperative position and unfolded and moved to an operative positionto rigidly support the cabinet.

A further object is to provide such an arrangement of parts wherein thelegs, when in operative positions, are arranged wholly outwardly of thecabinet at the ends thereof, thus permitting the cabinet to be fullyopened for access to the various compartments thereto withoutinterference by the leg structures.

A further object is to provide such a struc-. ture wherein carryinghandles are provided at the ends of the cabinet and with which handlesthe legs are associated, the legs when in inoperative positions beingmovable from the central portions of the handle structures to permit thepicking up and carrying of the cabinet, the legs being movable topositions centrally of the handles when in operative positions torigidly support the cabinet.

A further object is to provide such a construction wherein a pair oflegs is provided at each end of the cabinet, each pair of legs divergingdownwardly when in operative positionsand having novel means associatedtherewith for maintaining the legs in spread position and for rigid lyholding the legs against movement in any direction. Y

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description.

In the drawing I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In thisshowing,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet in fully opened position,supported by the legs associated with the cabinet,

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the cabinet showing. the legs inoperative position, the lower ends of the legs being broken away,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on line 33 ofFigure2,

Figure 4 is a similar view on line 4-4 of Figure 2, Figure 5 is afragmentary vertical sectionalview on line 5-5 of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a similar view on line 6--5 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figure 1, the numeral l0indicates as a whole the combined table and cabinet structure. Thisstructure comprises a stationary bottom wall II, stationary end walls IIand I2, and a stationary back wall l3. The cabinet is provided with acover I! flanged around its edges as at l5 and hinged to the top of theback wall as at IS, The cover I 4 is shown in open position in Figure 1,and the back wall l3 may engage bumpers I! (Figure 2) carried by theadjacent flange of the cover when the latter is in open position tolimit movement ofthe cover to a horizontal position to serve as a tabletop, when desired.

The cabinet is further provided with a front wall I8 shown in open orhorizontal position in Figure 1, this wall being connected by a chain orother flexible member l9 adjacent each end to the respective side wallsor end walls II and I2 to limit opening movement of the front wall 18 tothe horizontal position shown in Figure 1. This front wall, when open,is adapted to serve as a table top for the service of food, or for anyother purpose.

The interior of the cabinet is suitably divided by partitions, shelvesand the like to form compartments for the. effective carrying of food.utensils and the like. For example, the cabinet may be provided with avertical partition 22, forming a space 23 between the partition 22 andside wall II to form a compartment for carrying tall articles such asmilk and other beverage bottles. A horizontal shelf 24 extends betweenthe partition 22 and the end wall l2. The partition 22 and end wall 12may be grooved, for example as shown at 25, to support the shelf 24either in the position shown in Figure 1 or in a higher position. In thenormal position of the shelf 24, this shelf forms a lower compartment 26at one side of which is arranged a drawer 21 in which knives, forks andother utensils conveniently may be carried. The open portion of thespace 26 may be effectively used for carrying chinaware, such as platesvand the like, while food may be packed in the space above. the shelf 24,or in any other places in which space may be found therefor.

Each end wall I l and I2 carries a handle structure indicated as a wholeby the numeral 28. Each handle structure comprises an upper horizontalbar 29 projecting; above the top of the cover l4 when-the latter isclosed, as shown in Figure 2. From the horizontal bar 29, vertical 5bars 30 extend downwardly as shown inFigure 2.

The lower end of each vertical arm 38 terminates in an inward angularextension 3| having a foot 32 at its extremity angularly arranged for apurpose to be described. Each angular portion 3| is secured as at 33 tothe adjacent cabinet end wall. Intermediate their ends, each verticalarm 30 has an inwardly projecting lug 34, also fixed to the adjacentcabinet end as at 35. The members 33 and 35 obviously rigidly secureeach leg structure 28 in position.

As clearly shown in Figure 5, the upper portions of the vertical handlearms 30 curve outwardly so that the horizontal handle elements 29 lieslightly outwardly of the cabinet end walls. Each such horizontal arm 29is straddled by a U-shaped clip 38 in inverted position, and between thefianges of each clip 38 is pivoted as at 39 a pair of straight legs 40.The legs of each pair are connected to the remote ends of spreader links4|, these links being connected to the legs as at 42 and having theiradjacent ends connected to each other by a pin 43 (Figure '6) ofsubstantial length and preferably having a knurled end to facilitatemanual manipulation thereof as will become apparent.

The legs 40 of each pair are adapted to be swung toward each other assuggested in dotted lines in Figure 2, the spreader links 41 beingextended upwardly at an angle as also shown in dotted lines. It willbecome apparent that when the legs are in the inoperative positionsreferred to below, such legs will be in close proximity to each other,and the inner edges of the legs are recessed as at 44 to accommodate thepin 43 when the latter is at its upper limit of movement. When the links4| of each pair of legs are horizontally arranged, such legs are spreadto their limits of movement, in which case they will tightly engage theelements 32 to be rigidly held against movement in planes parallel tothe cabinet end walls.

A clip 46 is secured as at 41 to each cabinet end wall. Each clip has avertical end 48 offset outwardly from the adjacent cabinet wall andslotted as at 49 to receive the pin 43 as shown in Figure 6. When thelinks 4| are in spread or aligned position as shown in Figure 2, the pin43 associated with such legs will be in the bottom of the slot 49 toprevent further downward movement of the pin 43. The links 4| will bearranged within the offset end 48 and thus will be prevented from movinglongitudinally of the box by the clip end 48 and by the adjacent cabinetend wall.

Operation The inverted U-shaped clips 38 are slidable along the handlebars 29. When the legs are in the operative positions shown, each clip38 will be arranged centrally of the length of each bar 29 and the boxwill be in the position described above. The pin 43 will be arranged inthe slot 49 to limit downward movement of the connected ends of eachpair of links, and the pivot pins 42 will be pushed apart to theirlimits of movement to maintain the legs in tight engagement with thestop members 32. The links 4| are of such length as to maintain the legsunder pressure against the members 32, and accordingly the legs will beheld rigidly against movement in any direction. These legs 40 are placedin the operative positions shown prior to opening the cabinet as furtherreferred to below.

Assuming the cabinet to be open as shown in Figure 1, the front wall |8serves as a table top, and the horizontal surface of the cover l4 servesa similar purpose, if desired. Food articles, utensils, etc., arereadily accessible within the cabi net. When the construction is to befolded, the front wall l8 will be moved upwardly to closed or verticalposition, whereupon the cover I 4 will be closed. This cover may engageand hold the front wall l8 in closed position or the latter may beprovided with suitable latches (not shown) if desired.

The pins 43 at the ends of the cabinet then will be pulled upwardly tobreak the links 4|, thus moving the legs of each pair together andbuckling the links 4| upwardly. The legs will be swung outwardly andupwardly and then over the top of the closed cover M to inoperativepositions. As stated, the clips 38 are slidable along the bars 29 at theends of the cabinet. One of these clips will be pushed to the rear ofits bar 29 and the other clip toward the forward end of its bar 29, thusexposing the central portions of the two bars 29 to facilitate thepicking up of the cabinet by the two hands.

It will be apparent that the legs are permanently connected to thecabinet and thus they cannot be forgotten or misplaced when it isdesired to use the cabinet, for example when going on a picnic. Theoperation of rendering the legs operative and opening the cabinet willbe apparent from the foregoing description. Each pair of legs will beswung upwardly and outwardly and then downwardly into positions inproximity to the cabinet ends, whereupon the pins 43 will be pusheddownwardly to lock the legs in the operative positions shown. The coverI4 is then swung back to its open position shown in Figure l, whereuponthe front wall l8 will be dropped to the horizontal position to renderthe interior of the cabinet fully accessible and to place the front walll8 in a position to be used as a table top. The cabinet is extremelyuseful and handy as a picnic foodand utensil-carrying cabinet, and itreadily may be opened and closed and the legs rendered operative orinoperative by a single operator. The engagement of the legs with theelements 32 and the arrangement of th links 4| back of the offset clipends 48 renders the legs extremely rigid when in operative position,making it impossible for the legs to bend or collapse and thus spill anyof the contents of the cabinet. The projecting end of each pin 43-renders this pin easily accessible for locking and unlocking the legs 40when the latter are moved to or out of operative positions.

I claim:

1. A portable structure comprising a cabinet having end walls, a baradjacent and parallel to each end wall adjacent the top thereof, eachbar having depending arms at its ends secured to the associated endwall, and a leg structure connected to each bar, each leg structurecomprising a pair of leg elements normally diverging downwardly andextending below the associated end wall to support said cabinet, eachleg structure further comprising a connecting element slidable androtatable on each of said bars, each pair of leg elements beingpivotally connected at their upper ends to one of said connectingelements to swing outwardly from each other to diverge downwardly, andto swing inwardly toward each other to positions in close proximity, therotatable connection of each connecting element to its associated barproviding for the swinging of each leg structure upwardly and inwardlyover the top of said cabinet.

2. A portable structure comprising a cabinet having end walls, a baradjacent and parallel to each end wall adjacent the top thereof, eachbar having depending arms at its ends secured to the associated endwall, a leg structure connected to each bar, each leg structurecomprising a pair of leg elements normally diverging downwardly andextending below the associated end Wall to support said cabinet, eachleg structure further comprising a connecting element slidable androtatable on each of said bars, each pair of leg elements beingpivotally connected at their upper ends to one of said connectingelements to swing outwardly from each other to diverge downwardly, andto swing inwardly toward each other to positions in close proximity, therotatable connection of each connecting element to its associated barproviding for the swinging of each leg structure upwardly and inwardlyover the top of said cabinet, and spreader links for the leg elements ofeach leg structure, said spreader links being pivotally connected attheir adjacent ends to each other and at their remote ends to the legelements of each leg structure, said spreader links of each pair of legelements being adapted to assume positions in alignment with each otherto limit the spreading of such leg elements.

3. A device constructed in accordance with claim 2 wherein the spreaderlinks of each leg structure are pivotally connected to each other by apin projecting outwardly from each end wall, and means carried by saidend wall for limiting downward movement of said pin to a position inwhich the associated spreader links are in alignment with each other.

4. A device constructed in accordance with claim 2 wherein the spreaderlinks of each leg structure are pivotally connected to each other by apin projecting outwardly from each end wall, and means carried by saidend wall for limiting downward movement of said pin to a position inwhich the associated spreader links are in alignment with each other,said depending arms having portions engageable with the leg elements ofeach leg structure outwardly thereof when the associated spreader linksare in alignment with each other.

5. A portable structure comprising a cabinet having end walls, aninverted U-shaped member connected to each end wall, each such membercomprising depending arms and a connecting bar therebetween adjacent theupper end of and parallel to one of said end walls, a connecting elementslidably mounted on each bar and rotatable thereon, a pair of dependingleg elements pivotally connected at their upper ends to each connectingelement and depending therefrom when said legs are in a normal operativeposition, the lower ends of the arms of said U-shaped membersterminating in feet engageable with the remote edges of the leg elementsof each pair when the latter are spread apart at their lower ends to apredetermined extent, and means for spreading the lower ends of saidlegs.

6. A portable structure comprising a cabinet having end walls, aninverted U-shaped member connected to each end wall, each such membercomprising depending arms and a connecting bar therebetween adjacent theupper end of and par allel to one of said end walls, a connectingelement slidably mounted on each bar and rotatable thereon, a pair ofdepending leg elements pivotally connected at their upper ends to eachconnecting element and depending therefrom when said legs are in anormal operative position, the lower ends of the arms of said U-shapedmembers terminating in feet engageable with the remote edges of the legelements of each pair when the latter are spread apart at their lowerends to a predetermined extent, and a pair of spreader links pivotallyconnected at their remote ends to the legs of each pair and pivotallyconnected at their adjacent ends to each other, the spreader links ofeach pair being movable to a position in alignment with each other tospread said legs apart to engage them with said feet.

7. A device constructed in accordance with claim 6 provided with meanscarried by each of said end walls for limiting movement of said spreaderlinks of each pair to a position in alignment with each other.

8. A device constructed in accordance with claim 6 wherein the adjacentends of each pair of spreader links are pivotally connected to eachother by a pin projecting outwardly from the associated end wall, and asocket member carried by each end wall and having an upwardly openinggroove into which said pin is movable, the bottom of said groovelimiting downward movement of the associated pin to a position in whichthe associated spreader links are in alignment with each other.

CHARLES A. THATCHER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 306,642 Porter Oct. 14, 1884 893,694 Allenson July 21, 19081,348,220 Hathaway Aug. 3, 1920 1,463,499 Burroughs July 31, 19231,526,062 Golden Feb. 10, 1925 1,716,584 Hahn June 11, 1929 1,991,030Schimmel Feb. 16, 1935 2,152,168 Anderson Mar. 28, 1939

